


Without Armor

by infernalandmortal



Category: Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: F/M, Future Fic, Post-Canon, or at least canon as we know it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-14
Updated: 2016-08-14
Packaged: 2018-08-08 20:09:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7771450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/infernalandmortal/pseuds/infernalandmortal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After her rescue from Van Eck, Kaz makes a move toward Inej that he should've made a long time ago.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Without Armor

**Author's Note:**

> After reading Six of Crows, I promptly became trash for Kaz and Inej and decided that I needed this in my life. Enjoy!

He knelt before her bed, stripping off his gloves one by one, then removing his jacket and casting it aside. Inej watched, a curious light in her eyes. “What is this?” Her voice was soft, strained slightly when she moved to sit up on the bed, propping pillows behind her back and dangling her injured leg over the side of the mattress. 

“This is me without armor.” Kaz’s voice trembled along with his fingers as he turned his hands, palms up, to her. “I am not a good man, Inej - this, you already know - but I want to try for you. I want to be who you want. I want to help you find what you need. I am trying to deserve you. I’ll never stop trying.”

Inej’s dark eyes flickered from his bare hands to his face. He hated the darkness still lurking in her gaze, the glimmer - one not unlike a cornered animal’s - that remained from her time in captivity. But his Inej, his beautiful brave Inej, was still there, taking his vulnerability in and absorbing it into her heart.

“Kaz…” She whispered, then fell silent, reaching out with one hand to run her fingers along the bare skin of his fingertips. Nausea rolled his stomach like the sea but he kept his eyes trained on the dark skin so vivid against his own. This wasn’t Jordie’s death-pale hand. This wasn’t the stuff of his nightmares. This was Inej and she was warm and soft and alive and everything he never allowed himself to want.

Her hand trailed higher, running over the planes of his wrist before brushing over his forearm. Her other hand braced his opposite side, her eyes trained on her hands as if she’d never seen them before. Kaz could feel his pulse quickening, drumming in his veins like a five-alarm bell.

“You’re a beautiful thing without armor, Kaz.” She murmured. Kaz noticed that he was closer than anticipated; his thighs were resting against the mattress, his bad leg aching when he forgot to transfer his weight. Inej’s touch on his bare arms was intoxicating and revolting. He wanted more but he wanted it to stop.

In the end, it was wanting more that won out.

He reached his left hand toward her, bracing himself on the bed with his other. Gently, slowly, he cupped her cheek, watched in fascination as her eyes fluttered closed with a small sigh. “Inej,” he whispered, “my savior.”

She hummed softly and when her eyes opened they were far away, turning glassy as he stroked the plane of her cheekbones in fascination. “You saved me, Kaz. From the Menagerie, from Van Eck.” 

Kaz shook his head, his palm on fire, his heart beating out of his chest, his tongue lead in his mouth. “You have kept me human. You saved me.”

She shuddered once. A tear trailed from the corner of her eye. Kaz wiped it away, the moisture so foreign on his uncalloused fingers. Inej’s hands trembled on his forearms. She brushed them up and over to his shoulders, resting them there in a stronghold, in a sign that she wasn’t going to let go. “Tell me when you’ve had enough,” she whispered. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Everything hurts,” Kaz dismissed, his heart soaring at the thought of more of Inej’s touch, more of her hands on his unused skin. “I… I want more.”

His hand left her cheek as hers rose to cup his jaw, the back of his head. “Tell me what to do.”

He shook his head, suddenly trembling. Her touch was too much - adding words was impossible. “Inej, please.” He was lost, the way he’d been in the prisoner’s wagon on their way to the Ice Court, and once again he found himself clinging to her.

She inched forward, her feet on the floor on either side of his knees. He could feel her abused muscles trembling, knew she should be laying down to rest, but  _ Saints _ her skin felt so good on his, so different from Jordie’s and the dead, and he never wanted to end this moment.

His eyes fell shut as her calloused fingers chased over his nose, his cheeks, the arch of his forehead and the part of his lips. He felt his shaky breaths echo back at him from the press of her hand. “It’s alright, Kaz. It’s me. Remember who you’re with.”

Her voice soothed his nerves, eased the burning of flesh against flesh. This was Inej, deadly and strong. This was Inej, soft and caring and fiercely protective of those she chose to love. A laugh bubbled up in his throat at the realization that she chose him. Him, Kaz Brekker, bastard of the Barrel, the one who dedicated his entire adolescence to rendering himself untouchable, unlovable. Only his Inej could see the beauty in such disaster.

“Tell me when you want me to stop.” She murmured again.

Kaz dared to open his eyes, taking in her flushed cheeks, her breathless voice. “Never.” And then he did the unthinkable and leaned up to press his lips to hers.

She parted them instantly, a soft gasp working its way from her lips to his throat. His entire body was engulfed in flames; he gripped her hands tightly, feeling for her callouses brought on by the hilts of her precious knives.  _ Remember who you’re with _ . His breath was coming too fast and his head was spinning but all he cared about was how good it felt to be so close to everything he’d wanted for so long.

When they broke apart, Inej’s eyes were teary. She cradled his head in both her hands, her dark eyes searching, wondering, wanting. She was no longer his Wraith; she was a scared and tortured girl who had finally been given what he had been too cowardly to offer sooner.

“I don’t know what to say,” she admitted, her voice rolling over his frayed nerves. He released her slowly but made no move for his gloves. Her eyes watched his every move and it was just then that Kaz noticed the deep and dark shadows beneath them.

“You’re not sleeping well.” It wasn’t a question.

“I have nightmares.” Nina had told her that she cried in her sleep, that she called for her mother and father and for Kaz. Inej prayed to her saints that Nina had never mentioned that.

“What would help you?” Kaz’s heart still beat heavily against his ribs with every word he spoke. He felt like he had run a thousand miles, not merely touched the girl he loved. “Do you want me to stay?”

Inej hesitated, then nodded. “Please?”

Kaz pulled his jacket on and used the bed to help himself stand. “I will.” Reaching for a chair in the corner, he pulled it to her bedside as she lay back against her pillows, face turned towards him. “Sleep, Inej. I’ll be here when you wake.”

She closed her eyes. Kaz cast a look between her and the leather gloves on the floor. He let them lie. He didn’t need them yet.

**Author's Note:**

> If anything's out of character, please let me know! I've never written for this fandom before so I'm sure I have a lot to learn :)


End file.
